WELCOME TO AN INTERESTING CATVENTURE AT COMIC UNKNOWN!
We introduce today a new buddy adventure that is not your average adventure. Pulled through a bizarre vortex into what is called the "Movie Studio", two not so ordinary cats become probationary agents that were somewhat recruited to help keep the universe intact. We welcome "The Adventures of Mac and Trouble" to the Comic Unknown family of reviews. Created by Rusty Gilligan (Marvel, DC, Walking Dead, etc...), Mac and Trouble Issue One consists of three stories each with their own creative team. The book starts with the Origin story that introduces us to these two silly cats. With Dan Gorman on pencils, Terry Pavlet on inks and E.T. Dollman on letters, the origin story is what starts it all. Mac and Trouble are pulled into a plane only known as the Movie Studio which is essentially the headquarters where agents receive their assignments to traverse to other worlds or even universes to solve problems, correct mistakes, and mop up the occasional "boo-boo".
The second story is named "Never say no to Trouble" is undoubtedly a play on words where we follow Mac doing anything he can to stop Trouble from getting into.... well trouble. Trouble puts the universe in jeopardy for some orange juice and will stop at nothing for some added calcium. "Never say no to Trouble", like the origin story has the same creative team except for the letterer known as Magnus. In our final encounter with these two felines, we enter the story that can be only known as " Nazi Hobgoblins at the Core of the Cosmos". Mac and Trouble are now looking for some quality Coney Island hotdogs and where else or when else can they go except for 1939. With Mac worried about using their multiversal traveling privileges for trivial reasons, Trouble once again runs off and gets himself into a predicament. The story does end in a cliffhanger and leaves us waiting for the next issue.
The Adventures of Mac and Trouble Issue One at certain points reminded me of the newspaper comic strips and just let my innerchild run wild. Following these two crazy cats through time and space was a gratifying feeling where left me wanting more from the issue other than these three stories. The Adventures of Mac and Trouble is a Tom and Jerry styled adventure with some real world references except Jerry is replaced with a more sillier Tom (so Tom and Tom?). It is a must read and will definitely be enjoyed by anyone in almost any age (very mild language). You can follow these two rascals and their shenanigans on their Facebook page as well as their creator Rusty Gilligan's facebook page. Issue One can be bought digitally for $2.00 at WP Comics and will become available later tonight for physical copies.
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We enter the desert and follow Ken Baker, a Staff Sergeant aka Phantom in Patriot-1. Baker is a spec ops soldier who finds himself in sticky situation involving the CIA. It started when his team including his team leader Janson and himself were on their last escort mission in Afghanistan since the war is almost over. The team was ambushed only Janson and Baker were left alive and captured. They were interrogated about an operation called Quisling which Baker had no intel to offer. Unfortunately, team leader Janson noted his involvement and everything went south from there. Janson's involvement essentially got him killed by the captors and now Baker is the sole survivor. Successfully escaping, Baker and the CIA have a common goal to avenge Janson's death as well as completing the same mission that Janson died because of his involvement. The road that lies ahead of Baker won't be easy, it contains deception and conspiracies this will affect his resolve as a soldier. Is he in over his head? Patriot-1 is a lengthy interesting read, you can easily lose track of time as you keep turning pages while reading it. Kevin Powers did an excellent job with the story and it blends very well with the art.
Comparable to Captain America's patriotism, Sergeant Baker is one of those rare soldiers who will do what is right regardless of how hard it may seem. His love for his country and willingness to sacrifice for it makes him into a powerhouse. The antagonist in this series is one readers will almost sympathize. His tenacity for his goal, although not the best of goals, was a plus considering villains tend to have either sobbing back stories or they just want to the world to burn. Dexter Wee art approach engulfs the reader in this fantastic and gritty world. The readers can visually comprehend what is happening in the story as it doesn't require them to take a second glance at a page to understand. The book could not have been completed if it wasn't for Donna Gregory's and Keith Dallas' talents for the coloring and editing to bring the story home. This creative team made a marvelous story and should continue working together (either another issue or something totally fresh). Patriot won a bronze IPPY Award for Graphic Novels (Drama/ Documentary) and is clearly a keeper for those that enjoy the genre. Successfully funded on Kickstarter on August 1, 2014, Patriot-1 is available for purchase for $20.00 with free shipping including the digital copy and even a Patriot-1 bookmark! Readers can follow Patriot-1 on Facebook as well as Kevin Powers with any upcoming projects on Facebook and Twitter!
